Startups blooming in Cambodia

Cambodia had seen at least 12 tech startup funding announcements by the second quarter of the year, which was a 140 per cent increase from at least five in the previous year, according to a new report on the country’s tech ecosystem by Mekong Strategic Partners and Raintree Development, industry news platform E27 reported.

Launched during the inaugural Cambodia Tech Summit 2018 in Phnom Penh on October 21, the report also detailed the tech startup landscape by category, with fintech leading as a popular sector with more than 50 active startups operating. Examples of such startups are Morakot, Banhji, Pi Pay, BongLoy, and SmartLoy.

Digital media and advertising followed with more than 40 active startups such as Direxplay, Khmerload, Sabay, and Soyo. E-commerce and logistics, development services and “other disruptor models” followed with around 30 startups in each category.

Despite startups such as BookMeBus and BongPheak raising external funding, digital marketplaces remain the least popular category in the report with only around 20 startups.

Generally, Cambodia is experiencing a shift of perception on entrepreneurship. All startup founders surveyed for the report agreed that perceptions of entrepreneurship have “drastically improved” over the past three years; even 52 per cent of them named entrepreneur as a “generally accepted” career choice.

But for these founders, despite the increasing number of funding announcement in Cambodia this year, they continue to face challenges in accessing funding information.

A whopping 61 per cent of founders said that information on legal and tax advice, as related to startup investment, is “difficult or impossible” to access. In addition to that, they also struggle to access feedback sessions with investors and experts (49 per cent) and mentoring (47 per cent).

Cambodia had seen at least 12 tech startup funding announcements by the second quarter of the year, which was a 140 per cent increase from at least five in the previous year, according to a new report on the country’s tech ecosystem by Mekong Strategic Partners and Raintree Development, industry news platform E27 reported.

Launched during the inaugural Cambodia Tech Summit 2018 in Phnom Penh on October 21, the report also detailed the tech startup landscape by category, with fintech leading as a popular sector with more than 50 active startups operating. Examples of such startups are Morakot, Banhji, Pi Pay, BongLoy, and SmartLoy.

Digital media and advertising followed with more than 40 active startups such as Direxplay, Khmerload, Sabay, and Soyo. E-commerce and logistics, development services and “other disruptor models” followed with around 30 startups in each category.

Despite startups such as BookMeBus and BongPheak raising external funding, digital marketplaces remain the least popular category in the report with only around 20 startups.

Generally, Cambodia is experiencing a shift of perception on entrepreneurship. All startup founders surveyed for the report agreed that perceptions of entrepreneurship have “drastically improved” over the past three years; even 52 per cent of them named entrepreneur as a “generally accepted” career choice.

But for these founders, despite the increasing number of funding announcement in Cambodia this year, they continue to face challenges in accessing funding information.

A whopping 61 per cent of founders said that information on legal and tax advice, as related to startup investment, is “difficult or impossible” to access. In addition to that, they also struggle to access feedback sessions with investors and experts (49 per cent) and mentoring (47 per cent).